[1] The hotel was originally designed by the Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail and first opened in April 1879.

[7] It was the first in a string of hotels designed to appeal to the renewed interest in Cornwall as a winter resort for the middle classes.

[9][1] In 2024, a commemorative plaque was unveiled to honor the building as Newquay's first hotel and its original architect, Silvanus Trevail.

[10] The original 1879 building resembled a large country house with pitched roofs, gable ends and attic windows.

[11][12][13] In 1931 the original modest two storey gabled building was altered beyond recognition[11][3] to the current symmetrical art-deco style building, consisting of three storeys with smooth external render, painted frontages, symmetrical sash windows and rusticated quoin detailing to corners.